Tracking Shoppers: Paper from the CACM

An area we worked in for years,  in our labs and in real stores. here a n excellent update from the ACM:

"Tracking Shoppers," by Keith Kirkpatrick, explains how brick-and-mortar retailers, like their online counterparts, are using technology and to track shoppers through stores and leveraging that data to build sales and customer loyalty.  .. ..  "

Behavioral Implications of Grab and Go Retailing

Some interesting behavioral observations of early use of the lack of checkouts in Amazon's Grab and Go tests.   We interviewed and watched consumers in our laboratory stores to learn how they felt and reacted to similar approaches.  Will this cause fewer visits, change the nature of visits and purchases?  How will it interact with online visits?    Will this be an ultimate expectation of physical stores?   Amazon is in position to learn much here.

Amazon Go customers are still adjusting to the grab-and-go model in DigitalTrends

Apparently, our parents have taught us well. While Amazon’s new cashless grocery store, Amazon Go, has encouraged folks to just walk out the door without paying, it would seem that folks aren’t quite on board with that model yet. According to Gianna Puerini, vice president of Amazon Go, it has taken shoppers a bit of time to get used to the fact that walking out of a store without stopping by a cash register is not, in fact, immoral or illegal.

At Shoptalk, a retail industry event in Las Vegas, Puerini noted that she has been struck by the number of customers who have second-guessed their ability to take advantage of the cashless convenience offered by Amazon Go. ‘‘What we didn’t necessarily expect was how many people would stop at the end on their first trip or two and ask, ‘Is it really OK if I just leave?’’’ Puerini said of the new-age store that opened in January in Amazon’s hometown of Seattle. .... " 

Study: Brick and Mortar Appeals to Customers

Study: Brick-and-mortar still appeals to customers
According to the annual Global Shopper Study from mobile solutions provider Zebra Technologies Corp., more than three-quarters (76%) of shoppers feel positively about shopping in stores and nearly one-half think that technology solutions are helping retailers enable and improve their shopping experience..... " 

Shopper Scientist: Herb Sorensen

I want to remind people of Herb Sorensen's blog: Shopper Scientist.  He visited our innovation centers a number of times.   One of the most data oriented retail explorers I have ever met.  I hear he may be coming out with an update of his book,  anticipating it, follow him for more information, I will report on it when it comes out.  See my previous writings on his book: Inside the Mind of the Shopper.

Cracking the Digital Shopper Genome

In McKinsey:  Thoughtful piece.  The genome template idea is a good place to start thinking about understanding some segmentation or knowledge understanding.   Maybe not as good as a complete ontology.  " .... Cracking the digital-shopper genome ... Companies have more data at their fingertips than ever, so why do online shoppers remain such a mystery? The solution begins with bringing all the information together to form a meaningful picture of the consumer. .... " 

Unilever to Track Online, Offline Retail Gap

Unilever is investing $50,000 in startup Glimr as part of an effort to connect consumers' online and in-store shopping experiences. "We are hoping to bring an actual understating of who you are as an individual based on what stores you visit and help Unilever understand their target audience in a much better way -- so for the first time bridging the offline and online gap," said Robert Hedberg, CEO of Glimr, which helps brands build consumer relationships based on data from beacons  .. " 

" .... Precision. .... Glimr revolutionizes advertisement by allowing brands to truly build 1-1 relationships with their customers by using offline data.  ... "  

Shopping Pattern Tracking

In the WSJ: (May require registration)   An area we experimented with for some time.  Determining shopper behavior. Not necessarily tracking personal information, but how shoppers in general reacted to retail spaces.  Common for a long time.  Good recent overview.

Front End Shopper Behavior

In POPAI:  A diagrammatic look at shopper front end and check out behavior.  This is an infographic that I like, because it shows how things work, as opposed to being a replacement for a data visualization, that shows quantitative relationships.

ShopperTrak Buys RapidBlue

We tested Shoppertrak extensively in laboratory and live retail environments.  A very simple, useful systems for in store behavior analysis.  This combination is an interesting development.

Turning Shoppers into Heat Maps

A piece in Bloomberg about tracking shoppers in retail.  A subject we did much with in retail laboratory environments, and much has been written about here.  More readily available data visualization capabilities will make this more common and effective.   Startup mentioned is Prism Skylabs. Brought to my attention by Walter Riker.

RFID System Tracks Shopper Flow

In RFID Journal :   Have tested a number of related ideas.  Notably much work by Herb Sorensen's group that was reported in his excellent book : Inside the Mind of the Shopper.  (Image on the right is from his paper) " ... ' Following a 2012 pilot of a radio frequency identification-based solution to temporarily track customers' movements via tagged shopping carts moving through a Toronto supermarket, Moxie Retail is now preparing the solution's installation for two additional pilots with Canadian retailers this year. The technology was developed for Moxie in 2011 by the Academia RFID Centre of Excellence, and was piloted last year for 10 weeks by the Toronto retailer, funded by two consumer-product brand owners. The system has since been installed at another store owned and operated by the same retailer. Later this year, Moxie plans to install the technology to cycle through two stores for another national supermarket chain, as well as at 10 locations for a third retail company. ... " 

Neuroscience Shopper Engagements

Ron Wright of Sands Research Writes to me:

Lily Glick was the lead on the POPAI Shopper Engagement Study and we throughly enjoyed working with her on this project.  She has put together an informative white paper and thought you would find it of interest.  We are seeing significant growth in consumer neuroscience studies for the retail environment and would love to work with you on any projects.  (We like the term consumer neuroscience better than "neuromarketing").  She has a link on her website if you want to share with your readers:   Paper Here.

Eye Tracking in the Aisle

In the WSJ:  Continued advanced usage of eye tracking to understand the shopping consumer.    Some very interesting detail is included in this article.   " ....  companies likeProcter & Gamble Co.,Unilever PLC and Kimberly-Clark are combining three-dimensional computer simulations of product designs and store layouts with eye-tracking technology. And that, in turn, is helping them roll out new products faster and come up with designs and shelf layouts that boost sales ... "

Shopper Marketing

New book: Shopper Marketing: How to Increase Purchase Decisions at the Point of Sale, by Markus Stahlberg.    On my list to read.   Contains a chapter by Herb Sorensen regarding his Atlas store category simulation system that we examined when it first came out.     " ... Shopper Marketing explores the subject of focused marketing initiatives aimed at browsers and shoppers who are in-store and can be influenced in their final buying decisions. Now with a new foreword by Philip Kotler this second edition features 12 brand new articles that reflect the current changes in the fast growing area, focusing specifically on the international scope, the online presence and the future of shopper marketing.   Written by 35 experts from top companies around the world including dunnhumbyUSA, Millward Brown, Tesco’s Fresh & Easy, MARS Advertising, Nestlé and author, CEO and president of Envirosell, Paco Underhilll, Shopper Marketing shows the most effective ways of converting shoppers into buyers at the point of purchase. ... " 

A Shopper Perspective of the Aisle

You will recall I reviewed Herb Sorensen's book: Inside the Mind of the Shopper". Highly recommended for its insight into the scientific understanding of retail, based on actual consumer behavior. He has been a long-time correspondent. Above is a picture of what he views as the holistic shopper and a diagram of their behavior patterns in-store. A hint at some of his ongoing work that we look forward to experiencing. Will continue to track his work here. See also links to his writings in Retailweek, in twitter at @herbsorensen.